another side to custom fitting?

[viscount17]

in our pro's monthly email newsletter he states that they are soon to get a Vector launch monitor and how important it is to be 'fitted' with the correct (Titleist) ball.

I already know that if I hit certain high spin balls that's the last I will see of them but I'll still go for a 'fitting' just to see where I am now.

 

[minty18]

I currently use the warbirds because they don't have too much spin. I used a pro v1 that i found and any shot i sliced seemed to go more in the thick stuff than my warbird would have.

Its something I'd like to have a go at though just to see what the feedback is.

 

[viscount17]

I'll let you know when it's in and you can come up and get tested. He doesn't say but it would probably be the coat of a lesson.

 

[andiritchie]

it can only be a good thing i used it,good to see spin rates with the wedges using different balls

 

[Macster]

Spin is good !!

Just how wild are some of you lot with your shots ?????

 

[USER1999]

I think the pro is worried that not enough people will want new clubs to justify the cost of the vector m/c, so he is putting a different slant on it by c/f'ing golf balls, which every on needs.

This is junk. If you play enough golf, you must know which balls suit your play and your wallet.

 

[viscount17]

the m/c isn't costing him anything. I found out last night that it's a loan from Titleist (just up the road in St Ives) who will want it back at the start of the next European season. It's usually part of the Titleist tour kit.

 

[Herbie]

There are many ways you can look at training aids, technology and equipment and much of what you read and hear is designed to make you go out there and buy. Specialists/Pros/designers etc are after your money after all, though some stuff does work in small degrees like made to measure clubs of any type.

An old chap said to me many yrs ago when I first started playing the game."If you as a driving instructor bought a brand new Merc, top of the range, would it make you a better driver?"

I thought about it for a while and said no! he then said "why are you talking about buying an expensive new set of ping clubs when you havent learned to play the game properly yet?"

Most golfers are pretty gullable and will believe almost anything if it comes from a perceived reputable source.
The reality is that golf is learnt and doesnt come from a particular set of clubs or balls. The average golfer doesnt spin the ball to order and get virtually the same performance from any reasonably manufactured ball.
New golf clubs give little more than a psychological boost to the majority where the minority only get a small benefit from taylored clubs for example.
If all of the hype were true I should have hit balls better and scored better with a trial set of titleist clubs I used not too long ago, yet I played around my h/c as usual. I never had any feeling that these were the clubs that were gonna knock off 2 or 3 strokes for me.
Almost all golfers do not lower their h/c by buying kit or aids, they do it by practice, taking the right tips and instruction and effort. Often people buy new stuff and play a lot soon after to errr...get used to them? They dont relate the extra practice as being their improving factor they would rather claim their purchase did it.

Nothing wrong with buying new stuff and following the throngs of must havers, but to believe all the hype is rubish to me.
Why do tour pros use the kit they use? Is it because they think its the best kit for their game and improves them?
Not every case! Its because a sponsor offered them lots of dosh to use their kit. If Nike wanted to use another pro who currently used another brand it would only take a number of bucks to do it subject to contracts.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Disagree. I think my woes this season are testament to the fact that you can practice too much even if you are practicing the right things and not just bashing ball or ingraining bad habits. Also, a lot of people benefit from even the simplest custom fitting (e.g lie fitting).

Golfers may be gullable to a set of shiny new bats, but most of us on here know that a 28 handicapper is not going to benefit from a set of knife like blades and should be directed towards a forgiving cavity back. As long as they are able to help get the ball in the air and forgive the off centre hits it doesn't matter if they are top of the range TM or Callaway or a cheaper brand like Benross or MD.

If they can get the loft and lie suited by hitting via a computer then that enhances the chances of them hitting well on a more consistent basis. Even if they don't go down the custom route and as a newbie to the game the choice of new clubs is bewildering enough, but as long as they are steered towards a type that suits their game I see no probelm with it

 

[surefire]

I'm more biased towards Homers point of view.

I don't believe a custom club will make you better without you putting any work in, but I think it is important to have the right tools. If you learn to swing compensating for clubs that don't fit you will have a tougher time. That doesn't mean you have to upgrade every week though.

If you have running shoes that are too big or small, you won't perform as well as having correctly fititng shoes. However buying the latest nike air max 50million or whatever won't make you any better if you already have last months adidas that fit properly.

I don't think the car analogy is a prticularly fair one as driving on the road is not scored or competitive (well it shouldn't be anyway!).

If you were racing the car what one would you rather have? The top of the range merc, or the MkI Fiesta?

 

[Ken_A]

I would love to go and try ball fitting - I think that the low spin balls generally suit me better. But I am uncertain of which balls are low spin.

Fav listed in priority.

Prov1X
Bridgestone B330s
Taylormade TP Red
Taylormade Burner.
Srixon Ad333
Callaway Warbird


I have tried several other balls but these seem to be my ones - I would love to hit every ball in the pro shop on a monitor. Ther is no chance I am going to buy a sleve of each and try them.

 

[viscount17]

Ken,
for the pro-V1x http://www.golfballs101.com/ says 'This ball is designed with a very low spin off all shots but a very high speed for exceptionally long and straight distance with a firm feel.'
but 'This ball is only designed for a very fast and powerful swing.'

I think you've identified another area where we could do with some industry standards. (to add to shaft flex, loft etc). It's very difficult to relate the manufacturer's blurb to real life.

http://www.golfreview.com/cat/balls/PLS_2943_00_300crx.aspx

this has reviews for a lot of balls - it is an american site

 

[USER1999]

Since the proV1x is a 4 piece ball, with a central core that is designed to be reached by fast swing speeds, I am sure that most of the people who use this ball do not hit it hard enough to get it to work properly.

This is not to say that there is no benefit of using it as a lower spinning ball, but it won't go as far as it should do, because you can't hit it hard enough to compress the core.